Receptor characteristics and conduction velocities in bladder afferents

Abstract A correlation between receptor function and conduction velocity was made for bladder afferents in the anesthetized cat (24). Single-unit recordings were used to identify primary afferents which were activated by physiological and electrical stimulation. Three types of afferents were identified: Detrusor afferents which responded to tension changes in the detrusor musculature; afferents which responded to mechanical distention of the mucosal-submucosal surface; and mechanoreceptors which were located in the perivesicular tissue. Detrusor afferents conducted below 16 m/sec, mucosal afferents between 18 and 22 m/sec, and perivesicular afferents between 25 and 40 m/sec.